Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Mar 13, 2007, Mississauga, Ontario--Sexuality issues, including whether dioceses may decide for themselves whether to allow the blessing of same-sex unions, will be decided by General Synod through resolutions requiring the approval of a 60 per cent majority of the members of the order of bishops, laity and clergy or 60 per cent of dioceses if a vote by diocese is requested, the Council of General Synod (CoGS) has decided.

A committee examining the issue told CoGS that if General Synod accepts the conclusion of the Primate’s Theological Commission that the blessing of same-sex unions "is a matter of doctrine, but is not core doctrine in the sense of being creedal," any move to allow same-sex blessings would require the adoption or amendment of a canon (church law). A canonical change requires a two-thirds majority vote of each order at two successive synods.

But after agonizing hours of discussions at their meeting March 8 to 11, a majority of CoGS members decided that a canonical change "set the bar too high," and would create an impasse in a church already exhausted with the divisive issue that has dragged on for decades. They opted for the "resolution route" rather than the "canonical route." There were only two dissenting votes.

This means that a resolution deferred in 2004 that "this General Synod affirm the authority and jurisdiction of any diocesan synod, with the concurrence of its bishop, to authorize the blessing of same-sex unions" would only require the approval of 60 per cent of the voting members of bishops, laity and clergy.

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